Signal appliance for telephones



Jan. 5, 1943. c, P RTER 2,307,467

SIGNAL AI-ZPLIANCE 'FoRTELEPHoN s Filed Sept. 24, 1941 INVENTORQ Patented Jan. 5, 1943 UNITED STATES PATENT @OFFICE SIGNAL APPLIANCE FOR TELEPHONES Robert C. Porter, Pittsburgh, Pa.

Application September 24, 1941, Serial No. 412,119

3 Claims. (Cl. 179-2) This invention relates to a signal appliance primarily designed and intended for use in connection with a telephone used in common by a group or number of persons, as the employees or personnel of a store, factory, and the like, whose duties and occupations necessitate their presence at various places that are somewhat remote from but in the vicinity of the telephone.

When employing a telephone under such conditions, the telephone is customarily first answered by an initial operator, who, after removing the receiver from the telephone stand and being informed as to the identity of the person wanted at the telephone, places the telephone receiver at the side of the associated telephone stand, and summons the party wanted to answer the telephone.

Frequently the initial operator, through the urgency of pie-occupation, inattention, or failure to immediately locate the person wanted, will neglect or forget the reception telephone, which latter in the meantime remains unanswered and inoperative for subsequent calls for prolonged periods of time. Not less frequently the same situation is created, when the party summoned to answer the telephone, for any reason neglects, forgets, or delays to respond to the summons. Such dilatory practices obviously are provocative of resentment, inconvenience, and annoyance to the party making the telephone call, and the present invention anticipates to entirely eliminate or least ameliorate such conditions.

The primary object and advantage of the present invention is to provide an appliance of the character described, which is operable for automatically and intermittently producing a definite, distinct, and unmistakable signal that continues as long as the receiver remains removed from the telephone stand, to thereby eliminate the inconvenience and annoyance resulting from the inadvertent neglect of a telephone awaiting response from the party wanted.

Further objects of the invention are to provide a device of the class stated, which is designed to support the removed telephone receiver for convenient manipulation and which is actuated by the weight of the receiver itself resting thereon, which may be readily employed in connection with any type of telephone, which is simple in its construction and arrangement, compact, durable and efiicient in its use, attractive in appearance, positive in its action, and comparatively economical in its manufacture, installation, operation, and maintenance.

With the foregoing and other objects in view the latter is merely illustrative of an embodiment of the invention, and that the actual needs of practice and manufacture may require certain mechanical variations from the embodiment shown. It is, therefore, not intended to limit the invention to the disclosure thereof herein illustrated, but rather to define such limitations in the scope of the claims hereunto appended.

In the accompanying drawing, wherein like numerals of reference designate corresponding parts throughout the several views:

Figure 1 is a front elevational view of a handset type of telephone provided with a signal appliance constructed and arranged in accordance with the present invention.

Figure 2 is a vertical cross sectional view of the supporting stand and embodied parts taken on line 2-2, Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a diagrammatic view of a form of electric wiring involved in the preferred construction and operation of improved signal appliance.

Referring in detail to the drawing I denotes the desk stand of the conventional French or handset type of telephone now in common use. The upper portion of the stand is formed to provide a cradle 2 for the reception and support of the associated receiver 3 when the telephone is not in use. When the receiver rests in its cradle 2, the telephone mechanism is automatically rendered inoperative or shut off by the weight of the receiver 3, and when the latter is removed from the cradle the telephone mechanism is automatically operative for reception and transmission in the manner well known in the art to which the invention appertains.

It will here be noted that the conventional type of handset telephone embodies a receiver having its transmission and reception terminals disposed at respective ends of an integral, unitary type of receiver, therefore the term receiver is herein applied to such unitary receiver structure embodying both the transmission and reception te minals of the telephone.

The present invention comprises a hollow casing stand 4 having a reduced upper portion formed to provide a cradle 5 adapted for receiving andsupporting the telephone receiver 3." Except for being of uniform length and width, the superficial contour of the casing'stand dfis preferably similar to the configuration of the telephone stand I.

The size and construction of the cradles 2 and 5 are identical to facilitate the removal of the telephone receiver from the cradle 5 and the positioning of said telephone receiver in the latter. It is, of course, apparent that the shape of the casing stand may be varied to best meet conditions found in practice, without departing from the spirit of the invention.

The casing stand 4 is provided with a suitable, removable bottom 6, and lenses 1 or windows are fixed in respective front wall 8 and back wall 9, of said casing stand, for the purpose to be described.

The operating and control mechanism of the improved signal appliance is housed and suitably supported within the casing stand 4, and comprises a transformer [0, a circuit interrupter H,

a lamp l2, and a control switch I3 including a I resilient contact arm M. The latter carried a vertically disposed operating plug 15, which normally projects through and above an aperture l6 provided therefor in the top of the casing stand 4.

Conductors ll connect the circuit interrupter H with the source of electric supply, and a conductor i8 connects with said interrupter, with the control switch, and with the lamp ii. A conductor l9 joins the control switch with the transformer 10, and a conductor 23 connects the latter with the interrupter Ii. Conductors 2! connect the transformer ID with a buzzer 22, which is preferably placed at a location somewhat remote from the casing stand 4, so that the sound of the operating buzzer is not transmitted through the receiver 3 when the latter is positioned in the cradle 5 of the casing stand 4, as the party at the transmitting telephone would be confused and disturbed by such buzzer sound,

The transformer I0 is of the conventional type and construction now in common use for providing the lowered voltage required for the effective operation of the buzzer 22. The latter is also of the conventional well known construction universally employed for producing audible signals. The circuit interrupter H may comprise the conventional type of flashing plug, or any other suitable device automatically operable to interrupt, or make and break an electric current at predetermined intermittent or recurring intervals; The interrupter ll preferably should function in about thirty seconds after the operating circuit is closed, and thereafter should function in recurring intervals of about ten seconds. It is evident, however, that the length of such intervals may be varied to best meet requirements found in practice.

The telephone stand I and the casing stand 4 may be held in properly spaced relation to each other on a common base 23, so that the relative positions of said stands is constantly maintained to facilitate the interchange of the telephone receiver 3 from one of the stands to the other.

In practice the operation of the improved signal appliance is as follows: Assuming a telephone call is answered by an initial operator, and the party wanted on the telephone is not at the location of the latter. The operator, having removed the receiver 3 from the telephone stand I, places said receiver 3 in the cradle 5, of the casing stand 4, while he summons the party wanted on the telephone.

As soon as the receiver 3 is placed on the casing stand 4, the weight of the receiver will depress the operating plug l5 and thereby operate the switch l3 to close the operating circuit of the device. If the receiver 3 is not removed from the casing stand within about thirty seconds, the

buzzer 22 and lamp l2 will begin to operate to produce audible and visible signals. Through the operation of the circuit interrupter H, such signals will continue at intermittent or recurring intervals of about ten seconds, until the receiver is manually removed from the casing stand to release the operating plug and thereby cause the breaking of the operating circuit by the normal resilient action of the contact arm M.

The present invention provides a most eflicient and economical device of its kind, which may be conveniently and successfully employed for precluding the possibility of inadvertently or justifiably neglecting or delaying the consummation of a telephone call involving a party other than the person initially answering the telephone, whereby the resentment, inconvenience, and annoyances concomitant with inadvertent neglect of such telephone usage is entirely eliminated.

What I claim is:

1. In a signal appliance for a telephone in cluding a receiver, the combination of a casing stand including a top having an aperture, a cradle formed of said top for receiving and supporting the receiver, a signal mechanism positioned at a location remote from said casing stand, electrically actuated means connected with said mechanism for operating the latter and including a control switch. a resilient contact arm having one end thereof fixed in said casing stand and normally holding said switch in the open inoperative position, a plug carried by said arm and normally projecting through said aperture, the receiver in said cradle depressing said plug and said arm for closing said switch to operate said mechanism.

2. In a signal apparatus for a telephone including a receiver, the combination of a casing stand including a top having an aperture, a cradle formed of the top for receiving and supporting the receiver, a signal mechanism positioned at a location remote from said casing stand, electrically actuated means including a control switch mounted in said casing stand and. connected with said mechanism operable for intermittently operating said mechanism, a resilient contact arm having one end thereof fixed in said casing stand and normally holding said switch in the open inoperative position, a plug carried by said arm and normally projecting through said aperture, the receiver in said cardle depressing said plug and said arm for closing said switch to operate said mechanism.

3. In a signal appliance for a telephone including a receiver, the combination of .a casing stand including a top having an aperture, a cradle formed of said top for receiving and supporting the receiver, a visual signal mechanism mounted in said casing stand, an audible signal mechanism positioned at a location remote from said casing stand, electrically actuated means including a control switch mounted in said casing stand and connected with said signal mechanisms operable for intermittently operating said signal mechanisms, a resilient contact arm having one end thereof fixed in said casing stand and normally holding said switch in the open inoperative position, a plug carried by said arm and normally projecting through said aperture, the receiver in said cradle depressing said plug and said arm for closing said switch simultaneously to operate said signal mechanisms.

ROBERT c. PORTER. 

